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Orpheus and Eurydice

ORPHEUS AND EURYDICE: FOOTNOTES

1 Thocht, "Though," means "even if" or "that," so the sense of the line is: No wonder it was that he was fair and wise

2 To "yes" or "no" which are indifferent. The sense is "things which do not respond to human commands (are beyond human control)"

ORPHEUS AND EURYDICE: NOTES

19ancient and is from Chepman and Myllar. Bannatyne: anseane.

20 Fox follows Chepman and Myllar and Asloan to insert the after to. But the addition does not improve the sense or meter and is unnecessary.

22 In Bannatyne of and or are reversed. This emendation is from Chepman and Myllar and Asloan.

23the. Chepman and Myllar and Asloan: his.

25tarage is from Chepman and Myllar. Bannatyne: knawlege. Asloan: carage.

28 Henryson uses the humility trope here as in The Testament and The Morall Fabillis. The device was well known to all students of rhetoric in the later Middle Ages.

29Eleconé is Wood's emendation. Bannatyne: Electone. Chepman and Myllar: Elicone. Asloan: Elicounee. Helicon is the dwelling place of the Muses. See note to line 30.

30Arrabea. Fox suggests that the reference to Arabia might be a mistake for "Aonia, a term sometimes used either for all of Boeotia or for the part of Boeotia containing Mount Helicon, but this is a desperate solution" (1981, p. 393).

32Memoria. Usually the mother of the Muses is identified by her other name, Mnemosyne.

33goddes. Chepman and Myllar and Asloan: god. Fox emends to god, but the emendation is not necessary.

102till hir can he drawe is from Asloan. Bannatyne reads to his cave hir draw.

105trampit. This reading is from Asloan. Bannatyne reads strampit here and in line 124.

107 Wood emends Bannatyne by adding all, as in Asloan and here.

108 Wood emends Bannatyne I to In, as do I.

110 Bannatyne hir has been written in the margin in a later hand, to replace him.

112Ontill. Asloan: And till, which Fox follows.

130 Fox adds the after to.

133he is omitted from Bannatyne and added from Asloan.

134 Wood adds a title before line 134: [The Complaint of Orpheus]. Bannatyne has a larger space between stanzas and a large O at the beginning of the stanza, but no title. The ten-line stanza (lines 134-43) is, Fox suggests, "a variant of the nine-line Anelida stanza which Henryson uses for Cressid's complaint" (1981, p. 397).

140mony. Asloan: thi.

141for is Wood's emendation of the Bannatyne foll.

148 Fox uses thai comfort from Asloan instead of that wailyeit. He suggests adding him, which I have done.

158and. Asloan: of, which Fox follows.

159hate of hair probably means no hat at all.

161bess. Glossed here as "noisy beasts." The term has also been suggested to mean "bees."

188Wedlingis Streit. Watling Street, an ancient Roman road in Britain used metaphorically for the Milky Way. See Chaucer, House of Fame, lines 936-40; Fox also suggests review of the OED citation for a complete history of the term.

202He. Bannatyne: And. Fox's emendation based on Chepman and Myllar and Asloan.

210suth is from Chepman and Myllar and Asloan. Bannatyne: sur.

214gat he knawlege. Chepman and Myllar and Asloan: knaulage gat he.

215he passit. Chepman and Myllar and Asloan: than passit he.

225 Although all three versions read pluto, the reference is clearly to Plato.

226-42 Henryson's use of musical terms has been explained by Smith (pp. 54-55). Henryson's note on his authorial persona (line 242) has drawn widespread critical interest.

227duplare, triplare, and epetritus. The final term is particularly difficult. In the Bannatyne Manuscript, the term is emetricus, as it is in other witnesses. Wood suggests that the original form was epitritus, meaning a ratio of four to three. For more detail on this and other musical terms, see Wood, pp. 260-62 and Fox (1981), pp. 400-03.

228Enolius and Epoddeus (line 229) are terms borrowed from Macrobius to delineate proportions and ratios in the Pythogorean theory of music. See Fox's extended notes on lines 223-39 (1981, pp. 400-03).

264Electo, Mygra, and Thesaphone. The Erinyes or Furies who live in Erebus, the darkest pit of hell. They have snakes intertwined in their hair and torment their enemies relentlessly. Dante placed them on the wall guarding Hellgate. Here they watch over Ixion.

266Ixione, the more regular form of the name, is from Chepman and Myllar. Bannatyne: Exione. Asloan: Ixioun. The same emendation has been made in lines 272, 489, and 514. In mythology Ixion was a Thessalian king who ruled the Lapiths. He tried to rape Hera. Zeus tricked him by permitting him to copulate with a cloud resembling the goddess, from which act Centaurus was born. To punish him Zeus made him immortal, then bound him to a burning wheel which rotates perpetually in Tartarus. See lines 489-506 for Henryson's gloss.

275Syne come he till a wonder grisely flude is from Chepman and Myllar and Asloan. Bannatyne: Nocht far frome thyne he come unto a flude.

276that. Bannatyne: and. Emendation from Chepman and Myllar and Asloan.

277Tantelus. Traditionally the son of Zeus and the daughter of Cronos who enjoyed great wealth until, in his pride, he tried to trick the gods into cannibalism (the eating of his own son Pelops), for which he was cast into Tartarus to suffer perpetual hunger and thirst. See lines 519-59 for Henryson's gloss.

281to slake is from Chepman and Myllar and Asloan. It is omitted in Bannatyne.

nor. Wood's emendation. Bannatyne: no.

282ane apill is from Chepman and Myllar. Bannatyne: ane naple.

283twynid. Chepman and Myllar and Asloan: tolter.

threde is from Chepman and Myllar and Asloan. It is omitted in Bannatyne.

286 Chepman and Myllar and Asloan: Than Orpheus had reuth of his grete nede.

292fell. Chepman and Myllar and Asloan: scharp.

293blenkit. Chepman and Myllar and Asloan: blent.

294wofull. Chepman and Myllar and Asloan: wonder wofull.

295Titius. Chepman and Myllar and Asloan: Theseus. See also line 302. In mythology Tityus was a giant born of Zeus and Elara. Zeus hid him in the earth to avoid Hera's wrath. When Leto gave birth to Artemis and Apollo, Hera unleashed him to destroy Leto. But Zeus struck him with a thunderbolt that pinned him in the Underworld, where snakes and vultures perpetually devour his liver, according to the phases of the moon.

308Rodomantus and Proserpina. The two are not normally linked. Rhodamanthus was king of Crete and judge in the Underworld. Proserpina was raped by Pluto and confined to the Underworld during winter. See lines 345ff. where Henryson links her with Pluto.

310and is from Chepman and Myllar and is omitted in Bannatyne.

318brass full birnand. Chepman and Myllar and Asloan: full hate birnand.

319rycht is from Chepman and Myllar and Asloan. Bannatyne: full.

323Antiochus. In Apollonius Prince of Tyre, Antiochus seduces his daughter and withholds her from courtship with riddles. The story is retold in Gower's Confessio Amantis Bk. 8.

324 Chepman and Myllar and Asloan: Thare fand he Julius Cesar for his crueltee. Bannatyne: crewaltie. Fox has emended to crueltee.

328undir. Asloan: efter.

329Cresus. Marcus Licinius Crassus, a triumvir so avaricious that, as punishment, the Parthians beheaded him and poured molten gold into his mouth. Not to be confused with Cresus, King of Lydia, who ignored his dreams and daughter's prophesy and was hung in a gibbet to die. Chaucer tells that story in the Monk's Tale VII.2727-66.

333Sawll. The story of Saul is found in I Samuel.

334Of is based on Chepman and Myllar. Bannatyne: was.

335Acob and quene Jesabell. The accounts of the ambitious Ahab and his queen occur in I Kings 18-26. Nabot, line 336, was slain by Jezebel because Ahab coveted his vineyard.

346thiderward is from Chepman and Myllar and Asloan. Bannatyne: hiddirwart.

360Scho hes. Chepman and Myllar and Asloan: Thare is.

362Herod. Herod the great, Luke 23:11.

365rewert. Chepman and Myllar and Asloan: refete.

fax is omitted in Bannatyne and emended here from Chepman and Myllar and Asloan.

369ypodorica is from Chepman and Myllar and Asloan. Bannatyne: ipotdorica. Hypodorian and Hyperlerian (line 370) refer to musical modes.

383forewir till hell is from Chepman and Myllar and Asloan. Bannatyne: to hell for evir.

389apon his wyf and is from Chepman and Myllar and Asloan. Bannatyne reads in hart apone his.

396that. Chepman and Myllar and Asloan: quhilk.

403til is Fox's emendation. Bannatyne: to.

409handis. Chepman and Myllar and Asloan: hand is.

410mone turne the e. Chepman and Myllar and Asloan: turnis the ee.

415Lo is from Chepman and Myllar and Asloan. Bannatyne: Now.

417buke of consolatioun. Boethius' Consolation of Philosophy, where the story of Orpheus is retold (Bk. III. m. 12).

421Trivat. Chepman and Myllar: trowit. Asloan: trewit. Nicholas Trivet (1258?-1328) taught at Oxford and wrote voluminously on theology, history, and philosophy. His commentary on Boethius' Consolation of Philosophy is one of Henryson's sources for Orpheus. Fox prints the Latin text of the portion of the commentary that Henryson might have used (1981, pp. 384-92).

429and. Chepman and Myllar and Asloan: in.

435hird is from Chepman and Myllar and Asloan; it is omitted in Bannatyne.

435-36 This interpretation, which has caused so many problems with modern readers of Orpheus, is borrowed directly from Trivet. The association is an old one that goes back at least to Fulgentius. Given the romance elements in Henryson's tale, however, the moralitas seems to many critics to be flawed. This kind of strict adherence to a source at the expense of artistry may be the mark of an immature poet.

447passis up the hevyn belyve is from Chepman and Myllar and Asloan. Bannatyne: to the hevin he passit up belyfe.

507-08 Chapman and Myllar and Asloan: Bot quhen that reson and intelligence, / Playis apon the harp of conscience.

509-14 These lines are omitted in the Chepman and Myllar print and the Asloan manuscript. Along with two subsequent passages, this passage has been the subject of speculation by Smith and Wood. The lines may have been written by Bannatyne himself. However, Fox makes a significant point that these lines are unlike others of Bannatyne's authorship.

517affectioun. Chepman and Myllar and Asloan: complexion.

524hym is from Chepman and Myllar and is omitted in Bannatyne.

525-26 These two lines are transposed in the manuscript (as well as Chepman and Myllar), but Wood changed the order and Fox has accepted the emendation. In till is from Chepman and Myllar. Bannatyne: Syne.

528Acherone. The river in Hades which souls must cross to reach the dominion of the dead. Neither Fulgentius nor Trivet mentions the river in which Tantalus stands. Fox suggests that perhaps the detail is Henryson's invention (1981, p. 420).

534tak. Chepman and Myllar and Asloan: call.

541on bak and burd. Fox notes that the phrase on bak and bed and burde means "in clothing, in lodging, and in food," citing DOST (1981, p. 421).

542spar till othir men of gold a hurde is from Chepman and Myllar. Bannatyne: spair till wyn men of gold a hurd.

545that is from Chepman and Myllar and Asloan; it is omitted in Bannatyne.

546 Chepman and Myllar and Asloan: Playis upoun the herp of eloquence.

547-50 These four lines are omitted in the Chepman and Myllar print and Asloan manuscript.

555 This line is from Chepman and Myllar and Asloan. Bannatyne: off ythand thochtis and he besines.

556and is from Chepman and Myllar and is omitted in Bannatyne and Asloan.

557drink ineuch and hym are from Chepman and Myllar and Asloan. Bannatyne: eit and drink and he.

The nobilnes and grit magnificens
Of prince and lord, quhai list to magnifie,
His ancestré and lineall discens
Suld first extoll, and his genolegie,
So that his harte he mycht inclyne thairby
The moir to vertew and to worthiness,
Herand reherss his eldiris gentilness.

It is contrair the lawis of nature
A gentill man to be degenerat,
Noucht following of his progenitour
The worthé rewll and the lordly estait;
A ryall rynk for to be rusticat
Is bot a monsture in comparesoun,
Had in dispyt and foule derisioun.

I say this be the grit lordis of Grew,
Quhilk sett thair hairt and all thair haill curage
Thair faderis steppis justly to persew,
Eiking the wirschep of thair he lenage;
The ancient and sadwyse men of age
War tendouris to yung and insolent
To mak thame in all vertewis excellent.

Lyk as a strand of water or a spring
Haldis the sapour of the fontell well,
So did in Grece ilk lord and worthy king,
Of forebearis thay tuk tarage and smell;
Among the quhilk of ane I think to tell,
Bot first his gentill generatioun
I sall rehers, with youre correctioun.

Upone the mont of Eleconé,
The most famous of all Arrabea,
A goddes dwelt, excellent in bewté,
Gentill of blude, callit Memoria,
Quhilk Jupiter that goddes to wyfe can ta,
And carnaly hir knew, quhilk eftir syne
Apone a day bare him fair dochteris nyne.

The first in Grew wes callit Euterpé,
In our language gude delectatioun;
The secound maid clippit Melpomyné,
As hony sueit in modelation;
Thersycoré is gud instructioun
Of every thing, the thrid sister, I wiss,
Thus out of Grew in Latyne translait is;

Caliopé, that madin mervalouss,
The ferd sistir, of all musik maistress,
And mother to the king, schir Orpheouss,
Quhilk throw his wyfe was efter king of Traiss;
Clio, the fyift, that now is a goddess,
In Latyne callit meditatioun
Of everything that hes creatioun;

Urania, the nynt and last of all,
In Greik langage, quha cowth it rycht expound,
Is callit armony celestiall,
Rejosing men with melody and sound.
Amang thir nyne Calliopé was cround
And maid a quene be michty god Phebuss,
Off quhome he gat this prince, schir Orpheouss.

No wondir wes thocht he wes fair and wyse, 1
Gentill and gud, full of liberalitie,
His fader god, and his progenetryse
A goddess, finder of all armony.
Quhen he was borne scho set him on hir kne
And gart him souk of hir twa paupis quhyte
The sueit lecour of all musik perfyte.

Incressand sone to manheid up he drew,
Off statur large and frely fair of face;
His noble fame so far it sprang and grew,
Till at the last the michty quene of Trace,
Excelland fair, haboundand in richess,
A message send unto that prince so ying,
Requyrand him to wed hir and be king.

Euridices this lady had to name;
And quhene scho saw this prince so glorius,
Hir erand to propone scho thocht no schame;
With wordis sueit and blenkis amorouss,
Said, "Welcum, lord and lufe, schir Orpheuss:
In this provynce ye sal be king and lord!"
Thai kissit syne, and thus thay can accord.

Betuix Orpheuss and fair Euridices,
Fra thai war weddit on fra day to day,
The low of lufe cowth kyndill and incres,
With mirth and blythnes, solace and with play.
Off wardly joy, allace, quhat sall I say?
Lyk till a flour that plesandly will spring,
Quhilk fadis sone, and endis with murnyng.

I say this be Erudices the quene,
Quhilk walkit furth in to a May mornyng,
Bot with a madyn untill a medow grene,
To tak the air and se the flouris spring;
Quhair in a schaw, neir by this lady ying,
A busteous hird, callit Arresteuss,
Kepand his beistis, lay undir a buss.

And quhen he saw this lady solitar,
Bairfut with schankis quhyter than the snaw,
Preckit with lust, he thocht withoutin mair
Hir till oppress - and till hir can he drawe.
Dreidand for evill, scho fled quhen scho him saw,
And as scho ran all bairfute on a buss,
Scho trampit on a serpent vennemuss.

This crewall venome was so penetrife,
As natur is of all mortall pusoun,
In peisis small this quenis harte can rife,
And scho annone fell on a deidly swoun.
Seand this cais, Proserpyne maid hir boun,
Quhilk clepit is the goddes infernall,
Ontill hir court this gentill quene can call.

And quhen scho vaneist was and unwisible,
Hir madyn wepit with a wofull cheir,
Cryand with mony schowt and voce terrible,
Quhill at the last King Orpheus can heir,
And of hir cry the causs sone cowth he speir.
Scho said, "Allace, Euridicess, your quene,
Is with the phary tane befoir my ene!"

This noble king, inflammit all in yre,
And rampand as a lyoun rewanus,
With awfull luke and ene glowand as fyre,
Sperid the maner, and the maid said thuss:
"Scho strampit on a serpent venemuss
And fell on swoun - with that the quene of fary
Clawcht hir up sone and furth with hir cowth cary."

Quhen scho had said, the king sichit full soir:
His hairt neir brist for verry dule and wo,
Half out of mynd, he maid no tary moir,
Bot tuk his harp and on to wod can go
Wrinkand his handis, walkand to and fro,
Quhill he mycht stand, syne sat doun on a stone,
And till his harp thusgait he maid his mone.

"O dulfull herp with mony dully string,
Turne all thy mirth and musik in murning,
And seiss of all thy sutell songis sweit!
Now weip with me, thy lord and cairfull king,
Quhilk lossit hes in erd all his lyking,
And all thy game thow change in gole and greit!
Thy goldin pynnis with mony teiris weit,
And all my pane for till report thow preiss,
Cryand with me in every steid and streit,
`Quhair art thow gone, my luve Ewridicess?"'

Him to rejoss, yit playit he a spring,
Quhill that the fowlis of the wid can sing,
And treis dansit with thair levis grene,
Him to devod from his greit womenting;
Bot all in vane, that wailyeit him no thing,
His hairt wes so upoun his lusty quene;
The bludy teiris sprang out of his ene,
Thair wes no solace mycht his sobbing sess,
Bot cryit ay, with cairis cauld and kene,
"Quhair art thow gone, my lufe Euridicess?

Quhen endit wer thir songis lamentable,
He tuk his harp and on his breist can hing;
Syne passit to the hevin, as sayis the fable,
To seik his wyfe - bot that welyeid no thing.
By Wedlingis Streit he went, but tareing,
Syne come doun throw the speir of Saturne ald,
Quhilk fader is to all the stormis cald.

Quhen scho wes soucht outhrow that cauld regioun,
Till Jupiter, his grandschir, can he wend,
Quhilk rewit soir his lamentatioun,
And gart his spheir be socht fro end to end;
Scho was nocht thair; and doun he can descend
Till Mars, the god of batell and of stryfe,
And socht his spheir; yit gat he nocht his wyfe.

Than went he doun till his fadir Phebus,
God of the sone, with bemis brycht and cleir;
Bot quhen he saw his awin sone Orpheuss
In sic a plicht, that changit all his cheir.
He gart annone ga seik throw all his spheir,
Bot all in vane, his lady come nocht thair.
He tuk his leif and to Venus can fair.

Quhen he hir saw, he knelit and said thuss:
"Wait ye nocht weill I am your awin trew knycht?
In luve none leler than schir Orpheuss,
And ye of luve goddass, and most of micht,
Of my lady help me to get a sicht!"
"For suth," quod scho, "ye mone seik nedirmair."
Than fra Venus he tuk his leif but mair.

Till Mercury but tary is he gone,
Quhilk callit is the god of eloquens;
Bot of his wyf thair gat he knawlege none.
Wyth wofull hairt he passit doun frome thens;
On to the mone he maid na residens;
Thus from the hevin he went onto the erd,
Yit be the way sum melody he lerd.

In his passage amang the planeitis all,
He hard a hevinly melody and sound,
Passing all instrumentis musicall,
Causit be rollyn of the speiris round;
Quhilk armony, of all this mappamound,
Quhilk moving seiss, unyt perpetuall -
Quhilk of this warld Plato the saul can call.

First diatesserone, full sueit I wiss;
And dyapasone, semple and duplate;
And dyapenty, componyt with the dyss;
Thir makis fyve, of thre multiplicat.
This mirry musik and mellefluat,
Compleit and full of nummeris od and evin,
Is causit be the moving of the hevin.

Off sic musik to wryt I do bot doit,
Thairfor of this mater a stray I lay,
For in my lyfe I cowth nevir sing a noit;
Bot I will tell how Orpheus tuk the way
To seik his wyfe attour the gravis gray;
Hungry and cauld, our mony wilsum wone,
Withouttin gyd, he and his harp allone.

He passit furth the space of twenty dayis,
Fer and full fer and ferrer than I can tell,
And ay he fand streitis and reddy wayis,
Till at the last unto the get of hell
He come, and thair he fand a porter fell,
With thre heidis, was callit Serberus;
A hound of hell, a monstour mervellus.

Than Orpheus began to be agast
Quhen he beheld that ugly hellis hound;
He tuk his harp and on it playit fast,
Till at the last, throw sueitnes of the sound,
The dog slepit and fell doun on the ground,
And Orpheus attour his wame in stall,
And neddirmair he went, as ye heir sall.

Than come he till a rywir wonder depe,
Our it a brig, and on it sisteris thre,
Quhilk had the entré of the brig to keip:
Electo, Mygra, and Thesaphone,
Turnit a quheill wes ugly for to se,
And on it spred a man hecht Ixione,
Rolland about rycht windir wo begone.

Than Orpheus playd a joly spring;
The thre susteris full fast thay fell on sleip;
The ugly quheill seisit of hir quhirling;
Thus left wes none the entré for to keip.
Thane Ixion out of the quheill gan creip
And stall away; and Orpheus annone
Without stopping atour the brig is gone.

Befoir his face ane apill hang also,
Fast at his mouth, upoun a twynid threde;
Quhen he gaipit, it rollit to and fro
And fled as it refusit him to feid.
Quhen Orpheus thus saw him suffir neid,
He tuk his harp and fast on it can clink:
The wattir stud, and Tantalus gat a drink.

Syne ovr a mure with thornis thik and scherp,
Wepand allone, a wilsum way he went,
And had nocht bene throw suffrage of his harp,
With fell pikis he had bene schorne and schent;
As he blenkit besyd hym on the bent,
He saw lyand speldit a wofull wicht,
Nalit full fast, and Titius he hecht.

And on his breist thair sat a grisly grip,
Quhilk with his bill his belly throw can boir,
Both maw, myddret, hart, lever, and trip
He ruggit out; his panis was the moir.
Quhen Orpheus thus saw him this suffir soir,
He tuke his herp and maid sueit melody;
The grip is fled, and Titius left his cry.

Beyond this mure he fand a feirfull streit,
Myrk as the nycht, to pass rycht dengerus -
For sliddreness skant mycht he hald his feit -
In quhilk thair wes a stynk rycht odiuss
That gydit him to hiddouss hellis hous,
Quhair Rodomantus and Proserpina
Wer king and quene; and Orpheus in can ga.

Thair fand he mony cairfull king and quene,
With croun on heid with brass full birnand,
Quhilk in thair lyfe rycht maisterful had bene
And conquerouris of gold, richess, and land:
Hectore of Troy and Priame thair he fand,
And Alexander for his wrang conqueist,
Antiochus als for his foull incest,

And Julius Cesar for his foull crueltee,
And Herod wyth his brudiris wyfe he saw,
And Nero for his grit iniquitie,
And Pilot for his breking of the law;
Syne undir that he lukit and cowth knaw
Cresus that king, none mychtiar on mold,
For cuvatyse yet full of birnand gold.

Thair saw he Pharo, for the oppressioun
Of Godis folk, on quhilk the plaigis fell;
And Sawll for the grit abusioun
Of Justice to the folk of Israell;
Thair saw he Acob and quene Jesabell,
Quhilk silly Nabot that was a propheit trew,
For his wyne yaird withouttin mercy slew.

Thair saw he mony paip and cardynall,
In haly kirk quhilk did abusioun;
And bischopis in thair pontificall
Be symonie and wrang intrusioun;
Abbottis and all men of religioun,
For evill disponyng of thair place and rent,
In flame of fyre wer bittirly torment.

Syne neddirmair he went quhair Pluto was
And Proserpyne, and thiderward he drew,
Ay playand on his harp quhair he cowth pass,
Till at the last Erudices he knew,
Lene and deidlyk, peteouss paill of hew,
Rycht warsche and wane and walluid as the weid,
Hir lilly lyre was lyk unto the leid.

Quod Pluto, "Schir, thocht scho be lyk ane elf,
Scho hes no causs to plenye, and for quhy?
Scho fairis alsweill daylie as dois my self,
Or king Herod, for all his chevelry.
It is langour that putis hir in sic ply;
War scho at hame in hir cuntré of Trace,
Scho wald rewert full sone in fax and face."

Than Orpheus befoir Pluto sat doun,
And in his handis quhit his herp can ta,
And playit mony sueit proportioun,
With baiss tonys in ypodorica,
With gemilling in yporlerica;
Quhill at the last, for rewth and grit petie,
Thay weipit soir that cowth him heir or se.

Than Proserpene and Pluto bad him ass
His waresoun, and he wald haif rycht nocht,
Bot licience wyth his wyfe away to pass
To his cuntré, that he so far had socht.
Quod Proserpyne, "Sen I hir hiddir brocht,
We sall nocht pairte without conditioun."
Quod he, "Thairto I mak promissioun."

"Eruidices than be the hand thow tak,
And pass thi way, bot undirneth this pane:
Gife thow turnis, or blenkis behind thy bak,
We sall hir haif forewir till hell agane."
Thocht this was hard, yit Orpheus was fane,
And on thay went, talkand of play and sport,
Till thay almost come to the outwart port.

Thus Orpheus, with inwart lufe repleit,
So blindit was with grit effectioun,
Pensyfe apon his wyf and lady sueit.
Remembrit nocht his hard conditioun.
Quhat will ye moir? In schort conclusioun,
He blent bakwart and Pluto come annone,
And on to hell with hir agane is gone.

Allace, it was grit pety for to heir
Of Orpheus the weping and the wo,
How his lady, that he had bocht so deir,
Bot for a luk so sone wes tane him fro.
Flatlingis he fell and micht no fordir go,
And lay a quhyle in swoun and extasy;
Quhen he ourcome, this out of lufe can cry:

"Now find I weill this proverb trew," quod he,
"Hart on the hurd, and handis on the soir;
Quhair luve gois, on fors mone turne the e.'
I am expart, and wo is me thairfoir;
Bot for a luke my lady is forloir."
Thus chydand on with luve, our burne and bent,
A wofull wedo hamewart is he went.

Moralitas fabule sequitur

Lo, wirthy folk, Boece, that senatour,
To wryt this fenyeit fable tuk in cure,
In his gay buke of consolatioun,
For our doctrene and gud instructioun;
Quhilk in the self, suppoiss it fenyeid be,
And hid under the cloik of poetré,
Yit maister Trivat, doctour Nicholass,
Quhilk in his tyme a noble theologe wass,
Applyis it to gud moralitie,
Rycht full of fructe and seriositie.

Fair Phebus is the god of sapience;
Caliope, his wyfe, is eloquence;
Thir twa mareit gat Orpheus belyfe,
Quhilk callit is the pairte intellectyfe
Off manis saule and undirstanding, fre
And separat fra sensualitie.
Euridices is our effectioun,
Be fantesy oft movit up and doun;
Quhile to ressone it castis the delyte,
Quhile to the flesche it settis the appetyte.
Arestius, this hird that cowth persew
Euridices, is nocht bot gud vertew,
That bissy is to keip our myndis clene;
Bot quhen we fle outthrow the medow grene,
Fra vertew till this warldis vane plesans,
Myngit with cair and full of variance,
The serpentis stang: that is the deidly syn
That posownis the saule without and in;
And than is deid and eik oppressit doun
Till warldly lust and all our affectioun.
Thane perfyte wisdome weipis wondir soir,
Seand thus gait our appetyte misfair,
And passis up to the hevyn belyve,
Schawand to us the lyfe contemplatyfe,
The perfyte wit, and eik the fervent luve
We suld haif allway to the hevin abuve.
Bot seildin thair our appetyte is fundin,
It is so fast within the body bundin;
Thairfoir dounwart we cast our myndis e,
Blindit with lust, and may nocht upwartis fle.
Sould our desyre be socht up in the spheiris,
Quhen it is tedderit in thir warldly breiris,
Quhyle on the flesch, quhyle on this warldis wrak,
And to the hevin small intent we tak?

Schir Orpheus, thou seikis all in vane
Thy wyfe so he; thairfoir cum doun agane,
And pas unto the monster mervellus
With thre heidis, that we call Cerberus,
Quhilk feinyeid is to haif so mony heidis
For to betakin thre maner of deidis.
The first is in the tendir yong bernage,
The secound deid is in the middill age,
The thrid is in greit eild quhen men ar tane;
Thus Cerberus to swelly sparis nane.
Bot quhen our mynd is myngit with sapience,
And plais upoun the herp of eloquence;
That is to say, makis persuasioun
To draw our will and our affectioun,
In every eild, fra syn and fowll delyte,
This dog our sawll na power hes to byte.

The secound monstris ar the sistiris thre:
Electo, Migera, and Thesaphany
Ar nocht ellis, in bukis as we reid,
Bot wickit thocht, evill word, and thrawart deid.
Electo is the bolling of the harte,
Mygera is the wickit word outwert,
Thesaphany is operatioun,
That makis fynall executioun
Of deidly syn; and thir thre turnis ay
The ugly quheill, quhilk is nocht ellis to say
Bot warldly men sumtyme ar castin he
Upone the quheill in gret prosperitie,
And with a quhirle, onwarly, or thai wait,
Ar thrawin doun to pure and law estait.
Of Ixione, that on the quheill wes spreid,
I sall yow tell of sum pairte, as I haif red.
He was on lyfe brukle and lecherous,
And in that craft hardy and curagus,
That he wald luve in to no lawar place
Bot Juno, quene of nature and goddace.
And on a day he went up on the sky
And socht Juno, thinkand with hir to ly:
Scho saw him cum and knew his foull intent;
A rany clud doun fra the firmament
Scho gart discend, and kest betuix thame two;
And in that clud his nature yeid him fro,
Of quhilk was generat the sentowriss,
Half man, half hors, upoun a ferly wis.
Thane for the inwart craving and offens
That Juno tuke for his grit violens,
Scho send him doun unto the sistiris thre,
Upone a quheill ay turnyt for to be.
Bot quhen ressoun and perfyte sapience
Playis upone the herp of eloquens,
And persuadis our fleschly appetyte
To leif the thocht of this warldly delyte,
Than seisis of our hert the wicket will,
Fra frawart language than the tong is still,
Our synfull deidis fallis doun on sleip,
Thane Ixione out of the quheill gan creip:
That is to say, the greit solicitud,
Quhyle up, quhyle doun, to win this warldis gud,
Seissis furthwith, and our affectioun
Waxis quiet in contemplatioun.

This Tantalus, of quhome I spak of aire,
Quhill he levit he was a gay ostlaire,
And on a nycht come travilland thairby
The god of richess, and tuk harbery
With Tantalus; and he till his supper
Slew his awin sone, that was hym leif and deir,
He gart the god eit up his flesche ilk deill
In till a sew with spycis soddin weill.
For this dispyt, quhen he was deid, annone
Was dampnit in the flud of Acherone,
Till suffer hungir, thrist, nakit and cawld,
Rycht wo begone, as I befoir haif tould.
This hungry man and thirsty, Tantalus,
Betaknis men gredy and covetouss,
The god of riches that ar ay redy
For to ressaif and tak in harbery,
And till him sieth his sone in pecis small,
That is the flesch and blud, with grit travell
To full the bag, and nevir fund in thair hairt
Upoun thame self to spend, nor tak thair pairte.
Allace, in erd quhair is thair mair foly
Than for to want, and haif haboundantly -
Till haif distress on bed, on bak and burd,
And spar till othir men of gold a hurde?
And in the nycht sleip soundly thay may nocht,
To gaddir geir so gredy is thair thocht.
Bot quhen that ressoun and intelligence
Smytis upoun the herp of conscience,
Schawand to ws quhat perrell on ilk syd
That thai incur quhay will trest or confyd
Into this warldis vane prosperitie,
Quhilk hes thir sory properteis thre,
That is to say, gottin with grit labour,
Keipit with dreid, and tynt with grit dolour -
This grit avariss be grace quha undirstud,
I trow suld leif thair grit solicitude,
And ithand thouchtis, and thair besynes
To gaddir gold and syne leif in distres;
Bot he suld drink ineuch quhen ewir hym list,
Of covatyse to slaik the birnand thrist.

This Titius lay nalit on the bent,
And wyth the grip his bowellis revin and rent;
Quhill he levit sett his entencion
To find the craft of divinatioun,
And lyrit it unto the spamen all,
To tell befoir sic thingis as wald befall;
Quhat lyfe, quhat deth, quhat destany and werd,
Provydit ware unto every man on erd.
Apollo than, for this abusioun,
Quhilk is the god of divinatioun,
For he usurpit of his facultie,
Put him to hell, and thair remanis he.
Ilk man that heiris this conclusioun
Suld dreid to serss be constillatioun
Thingis to fall undir the firmament,
Till ye or na quhilk ar indefferent, 2
Without profixit causis and certane,
Quhilk nane in erd may knaw bot God allane.
Quhen Orpheus upoun his harp can play
That is, our undirstanding, for to say,
Cryis, "O man, recleme thi folich harte!
Will thow be God and tak on the his parte,
To tell thingis to cum that nevir wil be,
Quhilk God hes kepit in his prevetie?
Thow ma no mair offend to God of micht,
Na with thi spaying reif fra him his richt."
This perfyte wisdome with his melody
Fleyis the spreit of fenyeid profecy,
And drawis upwart our affectioun
Fra wichcraft, spaying, and sorsery,
And superstitioun of astrology -
Saif allanerly sic maner of thingis
Quhilk upoun trew and certane caussis hingis
The quhilk mone cum, to thair causis indure,
On verry forss and nocht throw avanture,
As is the clippis and the conjunctioun
Of sone and mone, be calculatioun,
The quhilk ar fundin in trew astronomy,
Be moving of the speiris in the sky.
All thir to speik it may be tollerable,
And none udir, quhilk no caussis stable.

This ugly way, this myrk and dully streit,
Is nocht ellis bot blinding of the spreit
With myrk cluddis and myst of ignorance,
Affetterrit in this warldis vane plesance
And bissines of temporalité.
To kene the self a styme it may nocht se,
For stammeris on eftir effectioun,
Fra ill to war ale thus to hell gois doun,
That is wan howp, throw lang hanting of syn,
And fowll dispair, that mony fallis in.
Than Orpheus, our ressoun, is full wo
And twichis on his harp and biddis ho
Till our desyre and fulich appetyte,
Bidis leif this warldis full delyte.
Than Pluto god, and quene of hellis fyre,
Mone grant to ressoun on forss the desyre;
Than Orpheus hes wone Euridices,
Quhen our desyre with ressoun makis pess,
And seikis up to contemplatioun,
Of syn detestand the abutioun.
Bot ilk man suld be wyse and warly se
That he bakwart cast nocht his myndis e,
Gifand consent and delectatioun
Of fleschly lust and for the affectioun;
For thane gois bakwart to the syn agane
Our appetyte, as it befoir was slane
In warldly lust and vane prosperité,
And makis ressoun wedow for to be.

Now pray we God, sen our affectioun,
Is allway promp and reddy to fall doun,
That He wald undirput His haly hand
Of mantenans, and gife us forss to stand
In perfyte luve, as He is glorius.
And thus endis the taill of Orpheus.

ORPHEUS AND EURYDICE: FOOTNOTES

1 Thocht, "Though," means "even if" or "that," so the sense of the line is: No wonder it was that he was fair and wise

2 To "yes" or "no" which are indifferent. The sense is "things which do not respond to human commands (are beyond human control)"

ORPHEUS AND EURYDICE: NOTES

19ancient and is from Chepman and Myllar. Bannatyne: anseane.

20 Fox follows Chepman and Myllar and Asloan to insert the after to. But the addition does not improve the sense or meter and is unnecessary.

22 In Bannatyne of and or are reversed. This emendation is from Chepman and Myllar and Asloan.

23the. Chepman and Myllar and Asloan: his.

25tarage is from Chepman and Myllar. Bannatyne: knawlege. Asloan: carage.

28 Henryson uses the humility trope here as in The Testament and The Morall Fabillis. The device was well known to all students of rhetoric in the later Middle Ages.

29Eleconé is Wood's emendation. Bannatyne: Electone. Chepman and Myllar: Elicone. Asloan: Elicounee. Helicon is the dwelling place of the Muses. See note to line 30.

30Arrabea. Fox suggests that the reference to Arabia might be a mistake for "Aonia, a term sometimes used either for all of Boeotia or for the part of Boeotia containing Mount Helicon, but this is a desperate solution" (1981, p. 393).

32Memoria. Usually the mother of the Muses is identified by her other name, Mnemosyne.

33goddes. Chepman and Myllar and Asloan: god. Fox emends to god, but the emendation is not necessary.

102till hir can he drawe is from Asloan. Bannatyne reads to his cave hir draw.

105trampit. This reading is from Asloan. Bannatyne reads strampit here and in line 124.

107 Wood emends Bannatyne by adding all, as in Asloan and here.

108 Wood emends Bannatyne I to In, as do I.

110 Bannatyne hir has been written in the margin in a later hand, to replace him.

112Ontill. Asloan: And till, which Fox follows.

130 Fox adds the after to.

133he is omitted from Bannatyne and added from Asloan.

134 Wood adds a title before line 134: [The Complaint of Orpheus]. Bannatyne has a larger space between stanzas and a large O at the beginning of the stanza, but no title. The ten-line stanza (lines 134-43) is, Fox suggests, "a variant of the nine-line Anelida stanza which Henryson uses for Cressid's complaint" (1981, p. 397).

140mony. Asloan: thi.

141for is Wood's emendation of the Bannatyne foll.

148 Fox uses thai comfort from Asloan instead of that wailyeit. He suggests adding him, which I have done.

158and. Asloan: of, which Fox follows.

159hate of hair probably means no hat at all.

161bess. Glossed here as "noisy beasts." The term has also been suggested to mean "bees."

188Wedlingis Streit. Watling Street, an ancient Roman road in Britain used metaphorically for the Milky Way. See Chaucer, House of Fame, lines 936-40; Fox also suggests review of the OED citation for a complete history of the term.

202He. Bannatyne: And. Fox's emendation based on Chepman and Myllar and Asloan.

210suth is from Chepman and Myllar and Asloan. Bannatyne: sur.

214gat he knawlege. Chepman and Myllar and Asloan: knaulage gat he.

215he passit. Chepman and Myllar and Asloan: than passit he.

225 Although all three versions read pluto, the reference is clearly to Plato.

226-42 Henryson's use of musical terms has been explained by Smith (pp. 54-55). Henryson's note on his authorial persona (line 242) has drawn widespread critical interest.

227duplare, triplare, and epetritus. The final term is particularly difficult. In the Bannatyne Manuscript, the term is emetricus, as it is in other witnesses. Wood suggests that the original form was epitritus, meaning a ratio of four to three. For more detail on this and other musical terms, see Wood, pp. 260-62 and Fox (1981), pp. 400-03.

228Enolius and Epoddeus (line 229) are terms borrowed from Macrobius to delineate proportions and ratios in the Pythogorean theory of music. See Fox's extended notes on lines 223-39 (1981, pp. 400-03).

264Electo, Mygra, and Thesaphone. The Erinyes or Furies who live in Erebus, the darkest pit of hell. They have snakes intertwined in their hair and torment their enemies relentlessly. Dante placed them on the wall guarding Hellgate. Here they watch over Ixion.

266Ixione, the more regular form of the name, is from Chepman and Myllar. Bannatyne: Exione. Asloan: Ixioun. The same emendation has been made in lines 272, 489, and 514. In mythology Ixion was a Thessalian king who ruled the Lapiths. He tried to rape Hera. Zeus tricked him by permitting him to copulate with a cloud resembling the goddess, from which act Centaurus was born. To punish him Zeus made him immortal, then bound him to a burning wheel which rotates perpetually in Tartarus. See lines 489-506 for Henryson's gloss.

275Syne come he till a wonder grisely flude is from Chepman and Myllar and Asloan. Bannatyne: Nocht far frome thyne he come unto a flude.

276that. Bannatyne: and. Emendation from Chepman and Myllar and Asloan.

277Tantelus. Traditionally the son of Zeus and the daughter of Cronos who enjoyed great wealth until, in his pride, he tried to trick the gods into cannibalism (the eating of his own son Pelops), for which he was cast into Tartarus to suffer perpetual hunger and thirst. See lines 519-59 for Henryson's gloss.

281to slake is from Chepman and Myllar and Asloan. It is omitted in Bannatyne.

nor. Wood's emendation. Bannatyne: no.

282ane apill is from Chepman and Myllar. Bannatyne: ane naple.

283twynid. Chepman and Myllar and Asloan: tolter.

threde is from Chepman and Myllar and Asloan. It is omitted in Bannatyne.

286 Chepman and Myllar and Asloan: Than Orpheus had reuth of his grete nede.

292fell. Chepman and Myllar and Asloan: scharp.

293blenkit. Chepman and Myllar and Asloan: blent.

294wofull. Chepman and Myllar and Asloan: wonder wofull.

295Titius. Chepman and Myllar and Asloan: Theseus. See also line 302. In mythology Tityus was a giant born of Zeus and Elara. Zeus hid him in the earth to avoid Hera's wrath. When Leto gave birth to Artemis and Apollo, Hera unleashed him to destroy Leto. But Zeus struck him with a thunderbolt that pinned him in the Underworld, where snakes and vultures perpetually devour his liver, according to the phases of the moon.

308Rodomantus and Proserpina. The two are not normally linked. Rhodamanthus was king of Crete and judge in the Underworld. Proserpina was raped by Pluto and confined to the Underworld during winter. See lines 345ff. where Henryson links her with Pluto.

310and is from Chepman and Myllar and is omitted in Bannatyne.

318brass full birnand. Chepman and Myllar and Asloan: full hate birnand.

319rycht is from Chepman and Myllar and Asloan. Bannatyne: full.

323Antiochus. In Apollonius Prince of Tyre, Antiochus seduces his daughter and withholds her from courtship with riddles. The story is retold in Gower's Confessio Amantis Bk. 8.

324 Chepman and Myllar and Asloan: Thare fand he Julius Cesar for his crueltee. Bannatyne: crewaltie. Fox has emended to crueltee.

328undir. Asloan: efter.

329Cresus. Marcus Licinius Crassus, a triumvir so avaricious that, as punishment, the Parthians beheaded him and poured molten gold into his mouth. Not to be confused with Cresus, King of Lydia, who ignored his dreams and daughter's prophesy and was hung in a gibbet to die. Chaucer tells that story in the Monk's Tale VII.2727-66.

333Sawll. The story of Saul is found in I Samuel.

334Of is based on Chepman and Myllar. Bannatyne: was.

335Acob and quene Jesabell. The accounts of the ambitious Ahab and his queen occur in I Kings 18-26. Nabot, line 336, was slain by Jezebel because Ahab coveted his vineyard.

346thiderward is from Chepman and Myllar and Asloan. Bannatyne: hiddirwart.

360Scho hes. Chepman and Myllar and Asloan: Thare is.

362Herod. Herod the great, Luke 23:11.

365rewert. Chepman and Myllar and Asloan: refete.

fax is omitted in Bannatyne and emended here from Chepman and Myllar and Asloan.

369ypodorica is from Chepman and Myllar and Asloan. Bannatyne: ipotdorica. Hypodorian and Hyperlerian (line 370) refer to musical modes.

383forewir till hell is from Chepman and Myllar and Asloan. Bannatyne: to hell for evir.

389apon his wyf and is from Chepman and Myllar and Asloan. Bannatyne reads in hart apone his.

396that. Chepman and Myllar and Asloan: quhilk.

403til is Fox's emendation. Bannatyne: to.

409handis. Chepman and Myllar and Asloan: hand is.

410mone turne the e. Chepman and Myllar and Asloan: turnis the ee.

415Lo is from Chepman and Myllar and Asloan. Bannatyne: Now.

417buke of consolatioun. Boethius' Consolation of Philosophy, where the story of Orpheus is retold (Bk. III. m. 12).

421Trivat. Chepman and Myllar: trowit. Asloan: trewit. Nicholas Trivet (1258?-1328) taught at Oxford and wrote voluminously on theology, history, and philosophy. His commentary on Boethius' Consolation of Philosophy is one of Henryson's sources for Orpheus. Fox prints the Latin text of the portion of the commentary that Henryson might have used (1981, pp. 384-92).

429and. Chepman and Myllar and Asloan: in.

435hird is from Chepman and Myllar and Asloan; it is omitted in Bannatyne.

435-36 This interpretation, which has caused so many problems with modern readers of Orpheus, is borrowed directly from Trivet. The association is an old one that goes back at least to Fulgentius. Given the romance elements in Henryson's tale, however, the moralitas seems to many critics to be flawed. This kind of strict adherence to a source at the expense of artistry may be the mark of an immature poet.

447passis up the hevyn belyve is from Chepman and Myllar and Asloan. Bannatyne: to the hevin he passit up belyfe.

507-08 Chapman and Myllar and Asloan: Bot quhen that reson and intelligence, / Playis apon the harp of conscience.

509-14 These lines are omitted in the Chepman and Myllar print and the Asloan manuscript. Along with two subsequent passages, this passage has been the subject of speculation by Smith and Wood. The lines may have been written by Bannatyne himself. However, Fox makes a significant point that these lines are unlike others of Bannatyne's authorship.

517affectioun. Chepman and Myllar and Asloan: complexion.

524hym is from Chepman and Myllar and is omitted in Bannatyne.

525-26 These two lines are transposed in the manuscript (as well as Chepman and Myllar), but Wood changed the order and Fox has accepted the emendation. In till is from Chepman and Myllar. Bannatyne: Syne.

528Acherone. The river in Hades which souls must cross to reach the dominion of the dead. Neither Fulgentius nor Trivet mentions the river in which Tantalus stands. Fox suggests that perhaps the detail is Henryson's invention (1981, p. 420).

534tak. Chepman and Myllar and Asloan: call.

541on bak and burd. Fox notes that the phrase on bak and bed and burde means "in clothing, in lodging, and in food," citing DOST (1981, p. 421).

542spar till othir men of gold a hurde is from Chepman and Myllar. Bannatyne: spair till wyn men of gold a hurd.

545that is from Chepman and Myllar and Asloan; it is omitted in Bannatyne.

546 Chepman and Myllar and Asloan: Playis upoun the herp of eloquence.

547-50 These four lines are omitted in the Chepman and Myllar print and Asloan manuscript.

555 This line is from Chepman and Myllar and Asloan. Bannatyne: off ythand thochtis and he besines.

556and is from Chepman and Myllar and is omitted in Bannatyne and Asloan.

557drink ineuch and hym are from Chepman and Myllar and Asloan. Bannatyne: eit and drink and he.

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